Miniature organs mimic human body

摘要

TEN miniature models of human organs have been linked up to create the closest we have yet come to a human-on-a-chip. Such systems may eventually replace animal testing. Scientists around the world have been developing organs-on-chips. These typically have a 3D structure containing multiple types of cells from a particular organ. To keep them alive, they are continuously fed a nutrient-rich fluid. All this makes them more representative of human organs in the body than cells in a tube or animal models, says Linda Griffith at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.